27 photos of glorious Ireland

By Daphne Sashin, CNN

Updated 2:45 PM ET, Mon December 1, 2014

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Photos:Glorious Ireland

CNN readers share their best memories and photos from mesmerizing visits to the Emerald Isle. Some of the island's most beautiful areas are in the north, repeat visitor Kevin Kane said. He shot this photo of Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge near Ballintoy on the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland.

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Photos:Glorious Ireland

Also in County Antrim, Giant's Causeway is a popular spot for Northern Ireland visitors. Kristen Jackson captured the calm before the storm on the coast. "By the time we left, the sky was gray, the waves were crashing and the wind could blow you right over. It was pretty amazing," she said.

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The Ring of Kerry is "a must for any trip to Ireland, with its spectacular views all along the way," said Annie Love. County Kerry is on the Republic of Ireland's southwest coast.

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This is a look upward through an old chapel in the "Old Graveyard" at Cloghane on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.

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The spectacular Gap of Dunloe near Killarney is a narrow mountain pass between MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Purple Mountain in County Kerry.

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Uninhabited Great Blasket Island is accessible by ferry from the Dingle Peninsula. Before the last handful of residents left in 1953, the island was home to several celebrated writers.

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Ruins of stone buildings remain as evidence of the former residents of Great Blasket Island.

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Travel agent Mackenzie Melfa's family spent a few nights at Ballynahinch Castle "surrounded by an incredible estate which we all loved exploring." The castle is located in the rugged Connemara area of County Galway on Ireland's west coast.

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Kylemore Abbey in Connemara has been home to a community of Benedictine nuns since 1920. Originally a castle, the stunning lakeside dwelling was built by Mitchell and Margaret Henry from 1867 to 1871.

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Kristen Jackson said she couldn't put her camera down while in Connemara. "There were sheep everywhere and it was like they were posing for me."

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At Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, memory stones are found all over the place, says Agata Mleczko.

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An empty road winds along the Atlantic Coast near Doolin, in County Clare.

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Blarney House, a Scottish baronial-style mansion, was built on the grounds of Blarney Castle in 1874. Located in County Cork, the mansion's namesake castle is home of the much-kissed Blarney Stone.

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"The view from the top of Blarney Castle is breathtaking," said Mohit Samant.

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The Fastnet Lighthouse has guided many ships off Ireland's southern coast near County Cork.

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Dublin, Ireland's capital city, sits on the east coast.

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Trinity College Library in Dublin is the country's largest library. Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland, Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university.

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Not to miss: The Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula and the Northern coast

"Make notes for your next trip -- you will surely be returning," said Kevin Kane

(CNN)Kevin Kane's love affair with Ireland began in 2000, when he and his then-fiancee piggybacked on a trip with his brothers and their wives.

The 39-year-old financial adviser from Havertown, Pennsylvania, has been back six times since, taking his now wife, brothers and mother on various trips that spanned nearly every county in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The green and rugged Dingle Peninsula, in the southwest of Ireland, is Kane's favorite destination, he wrote, though "the Glens of Antrim are spectacular in November, the Ring of Kerry cannot be described adequately by James Joyce himself on a clear day in June, and the vibrancy of Galway and Westport are enough to recharge the soul as you wander joyfully from Tobercurry to Ennis."

Kane offered a few tips for the first-time visitor:

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Don't be overly ambitious on your first trip. "Pick a few towns to stay in and do several days in each. One-hundred miles between towns is not a two-hour drive as you might expect. If there are no major motorways, it could easily become a harrowing four-hour trip for the novice European driver."

Talk to the locals in pubs. "Ask questions, don't fake a brogue, and listen to the suggestions they are sure to make about what to see in that immediate area. The Irish are fiercely parochial and love to show off their town's hidden secrets to tourists."

Do something off the beaten path. "Take a ferry out to an island to walk around a bit, find an Abbey ruin in a field to explore, take a flask of Jameson and hike up a mountain. Get lost in what Ireland is, and has to offer."

In summary, Kane said: "Keep your itinerary reasonable, soak up every minute you are there, and make notes for your next trip, for you will surely be returning. It's that kind of place."